NIN Releases Garageband Sources For 3 New Tracks

Kethinov writes "Nine Inch Nails has once again released the sources in Garageband format for three of their tracks from their new album Year Zero. You can also download user-created remixes. Trent Reznor claims that he plans to release the entire album this way."

Why Apple?

[SolitaryMan]

Pardon my ignorance, but what this has to do with Apple?

(Just asking)

Finally

[zappepcs]

Not to press a point, but NIN has been pushing a viral release of their new CD for some time now. They are a band that 'gets it' so to speak. They will make money even while giving away their music. If only the RIAA will learn from this, give content in new ways, give content that is more than an MP3 file, give content that is *WORTH* paying for.

I don't care if you don't like NIN's music, you have to admire how they are approaching the new medium and embracing a new environment. I will buy their CD just to have that heat sensitive label. NIN 'gets it' in my opinion.

Re:I know this probably sounds like a troll...

[Timesprout]

they don't need to play places as big as Shea Stadium regularly to still live the 'rockstar' lifestyle

Actually they do. Few bands/musicians are actually properly able manage this lifestyle and the majority of those who can have been around for a very long time, long enough and with enough sales to get a decent deal from the record companies. Of course there is the odd exception with someone like Robbie Williams who for some unknown reason scored a huge contract off EMI.

Much of the lifestyle you see with modern artists is funded by the record companies and when the sales dry up the cars, planes and cribs tend to vanish with them.

This is a good thing

[el_flynn]

I for one think that this is a nice, new path for other musicians to explore. Put out a couple of tracks as teasers for the album, and if the audience likes it more likely than not they're going to end up buying the album. It doesn't cost much for him to promote the album this way (other than paying for bandwith/hosting I suppose); it sure does his "street cred" a world of good anyways.

It feels to me like he's taking a very honest approach about it; after all if the tracks suck then the no-one's going to buy the music. But if they're great, I'm sure we'd want to listen to the rest of the album. He's putting his music/reputation/karma on the line, and in turn indirectly he's looking for your support to buy the album.

I'd really like to see other enlightened artistes try this. That'd really flip ole Jack [slashdot.org] in his grave eh?

Re:Finally

[smittyoneeach]

I went through college on "Pretty Hate Machine" and "Broken". Happiness in Slavery, after failing a EE exam in particular, was poignant.
Guess I'm old now, but his stuff doesn't seem to have progressed much.

Re:A sign of things to come?

[Bacon Bits]

Life's too short and I've too many other interests to worry about customising everything to the way I think it should be.

Some people say the same thing about an operating system. They tend to get mocked as luddites here on SlashDot, or tools of Microsoft.

Not saying I disagree with you. Just trying to give you some perspective.

Re:36% growth in sales: Requiem for Macintosh

[Anonymous Coward]

as long as they're loosing their edge and and not losing it, then it's fine with me.

Re:Finally

[that this is not und]

Guess I'm old now, but his stuff doesn't seem to have progressed much.

Like Coca-Cola, he doesn't dare change the formula.

Re:I know this probably sounds like a troll...

[nwbvt]

Big bands like NIN probably don't need record labels at this point, assuming they are willing to do all that boring work (marketing, accounting, production, legal, etc.) along with writing the music (Reznor might be willing there, but I imagine most are not). But a garage band has a nearly 0% chance of getting a hit on the radio without help. Yes, there are occasional exceptions, thats why I said 'nearly'.

BTW, how do you think sucking up to the general RIAA hating /. population sounds like a troll? If anything that sounds like karma whoring.

What does 96 kHz buy you?

[tepples]

24 bit / 96 kHz will get me interested.

I can see where storing intermediate versions at 24-bit would reduce noise in the final mix. But please explain something about pro audio: What advantage does representing frequencies up to 47999 Hz have if the ear can't hear over 20 kHz?

Re:Finally

[sg3000]

> his stuff doesn't seem to have progressed much.

I think his stuff has progressed a little bit. It's a little more organic sounding, particularly compared to Pretty Hate Machine. For example, one of the songs on his new album has a trumpet!

More importantly, I think his lyrics have gotten more mature. A lot of Pretty Hate Machine all the way to his previous two albums were about angst and navel gazing: "Woe is me, someone I love dumped me!". Maybe throw in a bit of "wow, the music industry is full of phonies! I blame you, God!". Maybe it's completely appropriate when you're a teenager or in college, but as you get older, it's a bit tiring.

"With Teeth" represented a shift in his lyrics in that they're more mature and he seems to be finally using his bully pulpit to say something important. "The Hand That Feeds" is a brilliant questioning of the war in Iraq ("what if this whole crusade is a charade?"). "Every Day is Exactly The Same" perfectly describes my job (particularly after a bitterly depressing day) after working for more than a decade ("I believe I can see the future, 'cause I repeat the same routine.")

Year Zero improves on that even more. He's gone from complaining about his love life to providing an interesting commentary and warning against the move to fascism. My favorite track "Capital G" is a perfect description a young Republican or someone who is on his way to becoming a "Brown Shirt".

So while the music isn't wildly different, I think that his lyrics have matured quite a bit. In that way, he's gone from entertainment to art, and it makes his music far more interesting.

Re:A Flash-using site? So much for "openness"

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh shut the fuck up. NIN wants a look to their site that can't be accomplished with straight HTML (e.g., exotic font, positioning, shading.) In short, the band wishes to create a certain mood, tone and functionality that's impractical without the use of Flash. What would you suggest they use?

Flash is available - free of charge - for 99% of desktops. This isn't some annoying banner ad or obnoxious webapp or anything like that. This is an artist using Flash on the web in a fairly tasteful context. "But, but, but... Adobe won't release a Flash plugin for my NetBSD MIPS toaster! And even if they did, it probably wouldn't be compatible with Lynx! And even if it was, Flash is proprietary, and that's evil! Plus the site would probably use JavaScript - and that's evil too!"